Lubricator



NITED STATES` PATENT Ormes.

SAMUEL REID, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

LUBRICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 273,312, dated March 6,1888.

Application filed June '1, 1881.

- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL REID, of the city of Chicago, county of Cook,and'State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful lmprovement inLubricators, ot which the following is a description, reference beinghad'to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a frontView of a lubricator embodying my improvement, and Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional view.

The object of my improvement is to provide a simple, compact, and cheap,but etficientlubricator, readily attachable to the pipes, cylinders, andother portions of a steam-eu gine,

d for supplying` oil in an even, constant, and perfectly regulatedquantity under all conditions and circumstances.

My invention consists,rst, in providingthe condensing chamber or tube ofa lubricator with means for'producing'a constant circulation ot' steamtherein, whereby with the slow-v 'or passage from the oil-cham ber tothe glass y tube or chamber, with a screw-plu g at or near the lowerpart thereot`whereby the lubricator can be readily blown out and cleanedby the passage ofsteam through either portion thereof', either throughthe condensing-pipe and oilchamber or through the glass tube or chamber,as desired; and, fourth, in theprovision ot a'detachable nozzle to thepassage from the oil-chamber to the water-chamber at the lower end ot'the latter, and held in place by an outer nut, together with packing,and through which the oil is fed into and through the water in theglass, all ot' which will be hereinafter morefully described, andpointed outdetinitely in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents the oil chamber or reservoir, formed, inthe usual manner, of brass or other suitable metal. l

The stopple B, screwed into the central portion of theupper end of thechamber A, is chambered within, so that when screwed into (No model.)

place it forms within an elevated' portion of the chamber A, as clearlyshown in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

The shank C is screwed into the side of the chamber A at c. It is alsoprovided with a passage or water-duct, c, preferably cast in it by acore. Into the inner edge of the passage c is screwed the short pipe c',extending upward within the chamber in the stopple B.

Within the upper portion of the shank C, at its outer end, at c2, isscrewed the condensin g-tube D. To present the greatercondensing-surface, the tube D is expanded at the top into the form of aglobe, and in the preferable construction this globe is a separatepiece, d, screwed upon the top of the tube D at d', as

shown in the drawings, apartition, d2, eXtending across the top-ot' thetube D. The` partition cl2 is provided with an aperture, d3, for thepassage ot' steam or water from the globe into the tube below. Thisaperture is closed, when desired, by the valve d4, of which thevalve-stem d5 passes up through an aperture in the center of the upperportion ot' the globe and terminates in a knob or other suitable handle.

rlhe outer end of the shank C is bored out at E, forming an extension inthetorm of a tube, and its end is provide-d with an exteriorscrewthread, upon which is screwed the nut e, attaching to the shank theshort flanged tube E', the outer edge of which is also provided withal1-exterior screw-thread.V

In attaching thelubricatorthe nut e 'is first slipped over the shorttube E', and the latter is then screwed into place into the steam pipeor cylinder. then brought into contact with the outer end of the tube E,an annular packing-ring being interposed between them, and the nut c isthen lscrewed upon the tube E, thus uniting the tube D, and through anaperture in the partition d2 into the globe d, thus forming with thepassage c3 a continuous steam-duct from the The iianged end of the tubeE is rco source of supply ofthe steam to the condensing-chamber andtnbe. In the form of construction illustrated in the drawings a secondtube, F', 0f smaller size, is inclosed within the tube F, thus forming asecond or vdouble steamduct leading from the source of supply. The upperend ot` the tube F projects a short distance above the upper end ot' thetube F, as illustrated in the drawings. The lower end of the tube F alsopreferably extends a short distance outward beyond the end ot' thepassage c3.

The oil-chamber A is provided at its lower end with a central opening,a', into which is screwed one end of a curved tube, Gr, preferably castof metal, with the passageYY therein formed by the insertion ot' a core.A short passage is made through the metal at the end ot` the tube G,where it is inserted in the end ot' the chamber A, for the purpose ot'draining the chamber when required. This passage is closed by thescrew-plug g. A tube, H, is also screwed through the metal, closing theinner end of the tube G, and extends upward to at -or near the top ofthe chamber A, as shown in the drawings. ThetubeGiscurved around so asto bring the top of its outer end preferably at or -nearly in a planewith the bottom of the chamber A. This outer end is formed with aninterior annular recess, itted to contain the lower end ot' thedetachable nozzle I. The form of the nozzle I is plainly shown insectional view in the drawings. Its base is provided with an annularrecess, z', upon its upper side, which permits ot' the insertion looselyof the lower end of the glass tube J, and it is held in place by theannular nut g2, screwed upon the exterior ot' the outer end ot' tube G,an annular packing-ring, i', being interposed between the nutand theouter flange upon the base of the nozzle I. The glass tube J is insertedat its upper end in a circular recess, c, in the lower side of the shankC, and is held in place by a similar annular nut and packing-ring tothose used at the lowerend ot' the tube. The glass tube J is ofsueh sizeand length that it stops slightly short ot' touching the metal at bothends, and is held at the sides by the pressure ot' the packing-rings,thus permitting its free expansion and contraction under the iniiuenceof heat and relievingit from undue strain.

The advantage ot' constructing the detachable nozzle I plain, asdescribed, with the screw upon the nut, and exterior to the pipe G,instead of upon the nozzle, is that in putting the lubricatortogethcrthe nuts and packing-rings are Iirst slipped upon the glass tube andthel nozzle inserted in its lower end. The upper end of the tube is thenthrust into the circula-r recess c, to the top thereof, when the "lowerend of the tube, together' with the base struction is thus secured thanwhen the nozzle I is screwed into place and the glass tube afterwardinserted; and,moreover,in my construction the nozzle I can be made ofany desired length without increasing the diliiculty of inserting it inplace.

A screw-plug, K, is inserted in the lower side ofthe tube G, and by itsremoval either side of the lubricator may be cleaned by blowing thesteam from the source ot supply through thatside and out through thepassa ge fitted by the screw-plug K.

A short tube, c5, is screwed into the outer end of the passage c6, whichextends through the shank U from the upper end of the glass chamberthrough to the outer end ofthe shank C into the tube E, as shown in thedrawings.

A valve and screw-valve stem, L, (shown in Fig. 1,) is fitted into thepassage cG at c7, by turning which the passage cG may be closed whendesired.

In the operation of my improved lubricator it is first attached to thesteam pipe or cylinder, as hereinbefore set forth, and the chamber Aisfilled nearly full with oil andthe stopple B inserted in place. Theglass chamber J may be filled with water, either by previously pouringit into the tube II or by opening the valve at c7 and permitting thesteam to enter and condense therein until the chamber is full of water.The valve d4 is also opened and the steam from the source of supplyenters through the tubes F and Fl into the globe (l, and is rapidlycondensed into water,which ills the tube D. This water, owing to theweight ot'its column in the tube D, is forced through the passage c andtube c into the chamber A,vand, owing to its superior gravity, it thenfalls to the bottoni of the chamber, displacing an equal quantity ofoil, which is thus forced through the tubes II and Gr and nozzleI intothe glass chamber J, whence, owing to its lighter specitc gravity, itrises, usually in drops, through the column of water, in visible feed,and, passing through the passage c6 in the shoulder G and the projectingtube, itis delivered into the steam pipe or cylinder at theplaeedesired. The quantity ot' oil thus l'ed through the nozzle I isregulated by the amount ot' opening given to the valve at c7. When theoil is nearly or quite exhausted in the chamber A the valves are closedand the screw-plug g opened, when the water is drained oli', and thechamber is then filled with oil, as before, the stopple B having beenremoved. The passage c in the single shank C is given an upward turn bythe insertion of the pipe c', to prevent theoil from passing through andupward into the pipe D, where it is not wanted, and this passage isplaced in the single shank (J, containing also the passages c3 and c6,Jfor simplicity, compactness, and cheapness of construction.

The tube H is preferably terminated at its upper end at or near the topofthe chamber A, as shown in the drawings, that the lighter impuritiesin thc oil may ascend above into ICO IIO

e'fale v s the recess or chamber in the s-topple B, while the heavierimpurities descend to the bottom of the chamber and are drawn ofiL1 whenthe cup is drained of its water.

In operating lubricators provided with the single steam duct or tube F,leading from the source of supply of steam` to the'condensing chamber ortube, I found that under some circumstances the lubricator ceased toact, appearing-to be clogged from some cause. To discover the-nature ofthe dilculty, I constructed a lubricator in which the globe dand tube- Dwere made of glass, that I might, by close observation, discover thecause of the stoppage. I found that under conditions in whichcondensatiorrtook place more rapidly than required to displace the oil,either when the condenser was placed in a very cold room or when a veryslow feed was employed, the

water in the globe d rose above the aperture in the upper end ofthe tubeF, and the steam, rising through the water, was still more rapidlycondensed until the globe was entirelyr h'lled with water, when-Iobserved that it gradually filled the tube F in a .downward directionfrom the top, in an analogous form to the accretions to an icicle, untilthe tube F Was illed with a column of water, when, the pressure of thetwo water columns heilig equalized, the lubricator ceased working.Having thus discovered the nature of the difficulty, I wholly overcameit by devising means which should produce aconstant circulation of steamin the condensing chamber, thereby insuring at all times steam-pressureupon the top of the watercolumn in the tube D, and consequently acontinuous movement of this water column, even with the slowest feed andin the coldest room. This constant circulation of steam may be producedin a variety of ways and by acombination of tubes or steam-ducts, eitherexterior or interior to the tube D, or both. The most simple and what Ideem thebest form ofconstruction is illustrated in the drawings, inwhich thesmaller tube F is inserted within the tube F, as hereinbeforedescribed. In operating this form of construction the steam from thesource of supply passes upward through both the tubes F and F andcondenses until with a slow feed or in a very cold -roomthe condensedwater rises to the level of the aperture in the upper end of the tubeF.' Steam then continues to pass through the aperture in the upper endof the tube F', above the upper end of the tube F, and rondenses, asbefore; but the surplusv water formed passes down through the tube F andis conveyed to the general source of steam-supply, so that the water inthe condensing-chamber never rises so as to check the fiow of the steamthrough the tube F. As an experiment, the valve d4 may be tightlyclosed,stopping the feedof the lubricator altogether, and constant circulationof steam in the globe d will be maintained, the water of condensationbeing continually drained off by the tube F, thus demonstrating theperfection of the process.

It will be observed that the lmain portions of the lubricator-thechamber A, the sha-nk G, the tube D, and globe d-.are each so centeredthat the work to be done upon them in fitting and finishing themv canreadily be done upon a lathe with few changes in position, which is animportant element in cheapness of construction.

The lubricator herein described is simple, compact, economical inconstruction, and a uniform, perfectly-regulated, and never-failingsupply o'f oil is thereby afforded to the parts vsought to belubricated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a hydrostatic-column lubricator, the combination of a condensingchamber or tube with two open independent ducts extending fromthe sourceof steam-supply to the condensing chamber or tube and opening therein atdierent heights, substantiall y as described.

2. In a hydrostatic-column lubricator, the combination of a condensingchamber or tube with three ducts opening therein at differentheights-viz., the lower one for conducting the condensation-water to theoil-cup, the upper one for admitting steamy uninterruptedly tothepconden sing-chamber, and the intermediate one for admitting steam tothe condensingchamber when the level of the water therein is below theintermediate opening, and 4allowing the surplus water, when its level isat or above such opening, to flow directly back to the source ofsteam-supply-substantially as described.

3. A sight-feed lubricator having a single shank or stem for attachmentto the machinery to be lubricated, and combining in its construction thefollowing elements, viz: an oilpassage from the oil-cup and sight-feedglass, through said shank to the steam source, two separate passagesthrough said shank to the condensing-chamber, and a water-passage fromthe condensing-chamber to the oil-cup, substantially as described.

4. In a sight-feed lubricator, the combination of the sight-feed glassand the duct leading from the oil-cup thereto witha ,anged detachablenozzle 'seated loosely in the end of said duct and extending into thesight-feed glass, a compressible packing-ring surrounding the glass andresting on the iiange ot' the nozzle, and a screw-ring inclosng` thecompressible packing and serving to tighten it against both the glassand the flange of the nozzle,

whereby thejoints can be readily and perfectly packed, and the parts canbe easily detached when desirable, substantially as described.

SAMUEL REID.l

Witnesses:

T. S. E. DIXON, C. T. HALL.

